Carlos A. Rivera Villafañe
Visual artist and educator with 30 years of experience, creator of "Conjunto Escultórico PONCE," and activist for human rights and the environment.
Message
Carlos A. Rivera Villafañe is a Puerto Rican painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and educator. Throughout his career, he has created installations, actions), and interventions that explore both aesthetic and social themes, solidifying himself as one of the most influential figures in contemporary Puerto Rican art.
With over 30 years of experience, his work has been part of 10 solo exhibitions and 110 group shows, showcased in important institutions in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. In Puerto Rico, his works have been exhibited at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, the Museo de las Américas, and the Museo de Arte de Ponce. Internationally, he has shown his work at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington D.C., the Museo de Arte Moderno in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and the Havana Biennial in Cuba. He has also participated in events such as the ARCO art fair in Madrid, the Cuenca Biennial in Ecuador, the Ibero-American Biennial in Lima, Peru, and the International Biennial of Graphic Arts in Ljubljana, Slovenia (formerly Yugoslavia).
His work is part of the permanent collections of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, the Museo de Arte, Antropología e Historia of the University of Puerto Rico, and Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba.
As an educator, he has been recognized with numerous awards for his contributions to the school community. Among his artistic accolades are: an Honorable Mention at the Third National Visual Arts Competition of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (1995), the Painting Award from the Alfonso Arana Foundation (1997), and an Honorable Mention at the Fourth Caribbean Biennial in Santo Domingo (2001). He has also received merit scholarships and distinctions for artistic excellence from the National Endowment for the Arts and the International Association of Art Critics, Puerto Rico Chapter. Rivera Villafañe has also served as a juror in various art competitions in Puerto Rico and Central America.
Among the most notable recognitions of his career, Rivera Villafañe was named "Illustrious Ponceño" and "Outstanding and Distinguished Citizen" by the Union of Women of the Americas in Ponce, in honor of his work in the visual arts, particularly for his iconic public art project, the “Conjunto Escultórico PONCE” also known as "Las letras de PONCE."
Rivera Villafañe earned his Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the Escuela de Artes Plásticas of San Juan of Puerto Rico in 1989, and in 2009 he completed a Master's degree in Administration and Supervision in Education at the Universidad Metropolitana, Cupey Campus, in San Juan. He has taught visual arts at the Santiago Iglesias Pantín School and the Escuela Central de Artes Visuales in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Statement
My work draws from the social reality that surrounds me, exploring human complexities through a neo-expressionist aesthetic that seeks to question and awaken collective consciousness. Each piece is a reflection on the contrasts that define our time: the tension between progress and cultural preservation, justice and oppression, the natural environment and human impact. My goal is to create a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork, challenging them to confront the unseen realities that often go unnoticed.